Outrage as umpire helps Nick Kyrgios to US Open win

By Darren Walton

31 August 2018 — 5:51am

Nick Kyrgios has leapt to the defence of chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani after the official’s extraordinary mid-match pep talk fired the volatile Australian into a US Open third-round blockbuster with Roger Federer in New York.

Lahyani is under fire for his controversial intervention after Kyrgios rallied from a set and a service break down to pull off a drama-charged 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 comeback win over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Kyrgios was trailing 3-0 in the second set, having thrown away the first on a wild second-serve double-fault, when Lahyani left his chair to beg the enigmatic star to start trying for the sake of the paying crowd and to avoid being sanctioned - again - for not giving his best effort.

"I want to help you. I want to help you," Lahyani said.

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"I’ve seen your matches: you’re great for tennis.

"Nick, I know this is not you."

Seeking some sort of physical treatment, Kyrgios said: "OK, Just call the trainer to the court and I’ll try." But when the trainer arrived and asked what Kyrgios needed treatment for, the Australian said: "I don’t know, check my wrist or something ... Can you just stay out here for like two minutes?"

An umpire has come under fire for giving Nick Kyrgios a pep talk at the US Open. Kyrgios went on to win the match. Credit:Twitter screengrab

The umpire’s controversial "coaching" was savaged on social media, with fans furious about his perceived bias towards Kyrgios and claiming it was unfair on Herbert.

Former Australian umpire and one-time head of ASADA Richard Ings even weighed in.

"I am racking my brain to think of a situation requiring a chair umpire to speak like that to one player. I umpired thousands of matches. I was ATP head of officiating. I can’t think of one," Ings tweeted.

The USTA, already under siege over a succession of rules blunders this grand slam, was also understood to be unimpressed with Lahyani's conduct and is investigating.

The US Open later released a statement on the incident.

"After the third game of the second set in the Kyrgios-Herbert match on Court 17, with Kyrgios down 0-3, Chair Umpire Mohamed Lahyani, left his chair to check on the condition of Nick Kyrgios. He came out of the chair because of the noise level in the Stadium during the changeover to make sure he could communicate effectively with Kyrgios," it said.

Kyrgios was trailing in the second set, but came back after the pep talk to beat Herbert.Credit:AP

"Lahyani was concerned that Kyrgios might need medical attention. Lahyani told Kyrgios that if he was feeling ill, that the tournament could provide medical help. He also informed Kyrgios that if his seeming lack of interest in the match continued, that as the chair umpire, he would need to take action. He again suggested to Kyrgios that he could receive medical attention.

"At the next changeover, Kyrgios down 1-4, received treatment from the physio."

Herbert later put out a statement, expressing his anger at Lahyani and his disappointment at the statement from the US Open.

"Nick from his side is not to blame as he did not ask for anything. But his behavior and motivation on court changed from this moment and then he dominated the match," Herbert said.

"On the other hand after seeing the video I am angry against the umpire. He should not go down of his chair and try to reason Nick. Did this action affect the game? We will never know ...

"I am even more upset against the statement of the USTA that is clearly taking us for fools. We all hear on the video what the umpire said to Nick overpassing his function. Err is human but I still wait for explanation."

Kyrgios, though, insisted the talking to by Lahyani wasn’t the spark for his fightback and said he’d be upset if the respected official was sanctioned in any way.

"It’s happened in Shanghai before when we all know I had that moment in Shanghai where the referee said the same thing: 'It’s not good for the integrity of the sport, doesn’t have a good look,' " Kyrgios said.

"It happens in other sports, too. In soccer, if someone is being roughed, they get warned: 'If you keep doing this, you get penalised.' Same sort of thing.

"It had no effect at all. I was three-love down, [then] 5-2 down. Obviously, didn’t help at all."

Kyrgios and Herbert have played once before, at Wimbledon in 2016. Kyrgios retired from that match down two sets to none.

Kyrgios added of Lahyani: "He was just concerned about how I was playing, like, 'Nick are you OK?'

"He [Herbert] let me back into that set. He should have just served it out.

"I stayed out here in the second set. I had no real choice."

Regardless, Kyrgios certainly hauled himself back into the contest after Lahyani’s approach, having looked utterly disinterested in the early stages.

Herbert serving to Kyrgios during the second round of the US Open. Credit:AP

Yawning one second, Kyrgios delivered a return winner the next to break Herbert to get back on serve at 4-5 in the second before clinching the tiebreaker to draw level.

Totally revitalised, Kyrgios dropped just three games in the last two sets, sealing victory after two hours and 47 minutes.

Federer later confirmed a Saturday night showstopper with Kyrgios at Arthur Ashe Stadium - world tennis’s biggest stage - with a 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 win over another Frenchman, Benoit Paire.

Roger Federer beat Benoit Paire in the second round of the US Open.Credit:AP

"It’s going to be a lot of fun," Kyrgios said.

"I definitely know that I won’t be the favourite, the crowd favourite here.

"I go into that match with zero expectation. I do believe I can beat him. I have done it before."

But Federer also weighed into the debate and outrage, and disapproved of the chair umpire's actions.

“It’s not the umpire’s role to go down from the chair, but I get what he was trying to do,” the world No.2 said after his victory over Paire.

“He behaves the way he behaves. You as an umpire take a decision on the chair, do you like it or don’t you like it. But you don’t go and speak like that, in my opinion.

“I don’t know what he said. I don’t care what he said. It was not just about ‘how are you feeling? Oh, I’m not feeling so well’.

“Go back up to the chair. He was there for too long. It’s a conversation. Conversations can change your mindset. It can be a physio, a doctor, an umpire for that matter.